Tag Archives: Stephen Chbosky

Laura Ashlee of Owl Tell You About It is asking a few questions regarding each part of Perks of Being a Wallflower for her Wallflower Event. The questions from part one are below along with my answers. I don’t remember most of the book from when I read it nearly ten years ago, so it’ll be as if I’ve never read it while I answer these questions.

1. What was your first impression of Charlie?I’m really torn on my opinion. The ex-teenager who understands wants to hug him and tell him everything will get better, while the adult in me wants to tell him to suck it up and get over himself. He comes off at first as having a bit of a superiority complex about him. He’s in the process of learning about books, music, and really just how to survive high school. While this stuff is new to him, he tends to take these things on as if he invented them, and him saying “I hope you do not find this difficult to follow” at one point left a bad taste in my mouth. I know he’s being considerate, but I also get the impression that he thinks this stuff is so intense that it would be difficult to follow as an outsider looking in, and really it’s not. I do understand him behaving this way, because I too get excited when I discover a new song, book, movie, etc. that I enjoy, but something about the way he goes about discussing these things bothers me. Perhaps it’s because he’s ten years younger than I am now and I have trouble following book in the point-of-view of a teenager. This is one of the reasons I don’t read YA, because I can’t relate to the narrator or feel comfortable with them. That’s not to say Charlie is a bad character, and that’s not to say this isn’t a good book, but I personally don’t care a lot for him just yet. That being said, I am enjoying the book in general, but the enjoyment is coming from the brief sketches of the older characters more than from Charlie. Hopefully my opinion changes in time. I’ll stop rambling about Charlie now.

2. What about Sam and Patrick?They are certainly an interesting duo, aren’t they? I love how Charlie thought they were dating at first. I’m not just saying this because Emma Watson is in the movie, but I feel like Sam and Patrick are to Charlie what Hermione and Ron are to Harry in Harry Potter. Does anyone else see that? They’re both curious about him at first, they’re very supportive of him even if he’s just getting the hang of things, and they accept him despite his differences. Now I’m starting to see why I don’t like Charlie much yet, because it took me several years to actually like Harry as a character. All in good time, perhaps, but I do like Sam and Patrick. They’re the new friends he’s been hoping for, and they are his rock.

3. What do you think about Bill’s comment that Charlie needs to start participating in life?I will admit that I am guilty of this one to an extent. While I do try to spend time with friends, sometimes I have no interest in being around anyone and would rather stay home and read or be out people watching at Barnes & Noble or Starbucks. Being single makes it much easier to live this way, of course, and I honestly have no issue with it. That being said, I think it’s very important for people in high school and even college to branch out and force themselves into situations. You may learn a lot from reading, Charlie, but you won’t learn a lot about yourself. I think Charlie is someone who wouldn’t have friends unless he was pulled into situations. He tends to sit back and wait for the world to happen to him instead of making it happen. The one time he reached out to Patrick worked in his favor, but had he not done that he would still be sitting at home alone, and there would be no story. To summarize, I think it’s important to participate, even if you’re like me and enjoy being alone. I would have loved to have Bill as an English teacher in high school, and I’m not just saying that because I know Paul Rudd plays him in the movie version.

4. What do you think about the music mentioned in Part I? Have you listened to it?I had listened to “Landslide” and “Blackbird” before as well as “Asleep” in a different version, and I’ve been listening to the playlist Laura Ashlee posted for the reading event that feature the songs from part one. I think the songs are appropriate for what Charlie and other characters are going through. Chbosky chose carefully, and it works well for the novel. I’m a pretty big fan of The Beatles, so the reference to “Blackbird” made me happy.

5. What do you think Charlie means when he says he feels infinite?I think everyone experiences a moment at least once in their lifetime where they feel unstoppable, like the world has really opened up for the first time and let them have their shining moment, a moment of glory, a moment of pure euphoria. Charlie is used to being the shy, quiet individual with little respect and attention. Suddenly, these two rather interesting individuals show up in his life, and he’s completely blown away by them. He feels like he’s part of something more than himself and his own thoughts. His life is changing, and he is infinite.

Whether or not you’re participating in this reading event, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below. For those participating in the reading event, I look forward to reading your thoughts on your own blog.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack.I sometimes snack while reading. I don’t really have a “go to” snack food. Lately the obsession has been organic popcorn. Apples with peanut butter is good too. And chocolate…definitely chocolate. Don’t worry, that’s not all at the same time.

What is your favorite drink while reading?This usually depends on what time of day I’m reading. The typical reading drinks would be coffee, tea, or Fruit Punch Crystal Light.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?I used to scold anyone who wrote in books, but as I get older I find myself doing it more and more. I usually just make a line down the side margin of parts I really like or want to remember for later, but sometimes I also write something specific.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?I use bookmarks. I’m one of those people who has over a dozen bookmarks but can never seem to find any of them. They’re oftentimes hiding in a book I forgot to finish. Oops.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?I read more Fiction than anything, but I enjoy Non-Fiction when the subject matter is of interest to me. I could be more easily convinced to read Fiction than Non-Ficiton.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?I prefer to have a stopping point, whether that’s the end of a chapter or the end of a section within the chapter. You know, the place with the extra space or a line or some little squiggly art between paragraphs. I can stop if need be, but you can be assured I make my sister/roommate wait until I’m at least finished with a paragraph before I’ll focus on what she has to say. And if the phone rings, I might just have to call them back. I think my only exception would be in the case of an emergency or the arrival of UPS with a new book, which in itself is an emergency.

Are you the type of person to throw a book cover across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?It’s been known to happen.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?It depends on my general understanding of the rest of the sentence/paragraph. Sometimes I find myself skipping it if the general idea makes sense, sometimes I mark it to look up later, and sometimes I can’t wait and look it up immediately.

What are you currently reading?Apart from the few things I’m reading for school, I’m reading The Kingmakers Daughter by Philippa Gregory. I’ll be starting The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling this week.

What is the last book you bought?It was either Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell or The Kingmakers Daughter by Philippa Gregory.

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?I usually have a few books going at once, and sometimes several when taking literature classes. I used to only be able to focus on one book at a time, but I’ve gotten used to having to read a few things at once. English majors understand this.

Do you have a favorite time/place to read?I like to read at night once work, school, and blogging responsibilities are taken care of. It’s my time to relax before bed. As for a place, I like getting away from home and reading at a coffee shop, usually Starbucks since they’re open later than most other places.

Do you prefer series or stand alone books?I usually read stand alone books. I have only read a few series. That’s not to say I don’t like them, but I haven’t dedicated the time to reading more of them, because I know I’d want to devour them all at once. Game of Thrones will happen one day!

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro are always at the top of my recommendations list. I find myself not needing to recommend Harry Potter to people anymore since they’ve either read it or know about it but have no interest, but I certainly talk a lot about the series.

How do you organize your books?Harry Potter has it’s own two-shelf bookcase. Dickens has his own shelf. Austen and Shakespeare share a shelf. Barnes & Noble classics have a shelf. Non-fiction has a shelf. Anything relating to a monarch has a shelf (Fiction and Non-fiction). Writing and reference books have a shelf. The remaining shelves are scattered fiction that doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to answer any of the questions in the comment section, or let me know if you feature these questions on your own blog.

Welcome to September fellow bloggers and readers! As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, there is a lot happening around the book blogging world this month. Various blogs are hosting some really cool events, not to mention the giveaways that never stop popping up. I had to force myself to pick only a couple reading events apart from the Harry Potter Read Along that I’m hosting. I thought I would do a brief post on the other two events I will be participating in this month.

The first event comes from Laura Ashlee at Owl Tell You About It. As you can see, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is the focus of this read-along, but it’s also unique in that the books, music and movies that Charlie experiences throughout the novel are also included in the event. A music playlist can be found here. I’m listening to it as I write this post. Quite a variety of artists, and I highly recommend it.

The reason I’m doing this reading event is mainly because I’m trying to reread a lot of books that I read in high school, whether or not I liked them. I remember enjoying Perks, but I honestly don’t remember it in detail. I also want to reread it before the movie comes out, which I will also be blogging about.

As for the the other lists, I don’t know how much I’ll get through. The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird all need rereads from my high school days, but with going to school full-time, working full-time, and my other blogging commitments, I can’t make any promises. I do know that I’ll be watching The Graduate, and hopefully Dead Poets Society as well. The music I’ll listen to at random and while writing any posts relating to this reading event to get into a Perks mood.

The second reading event will be taking place from September 1st to November 7th. Fanda at Fanda Classiclit is hosting a Gone With the Wind read-along. The co-host of this event is Bzee at Bacaan B.zee. This reading event will end with honoring Margaret Mitchell’s birthday (November 8th), which I think is the best way to end a reading event for a rather large book.

I signed up for this event because I have always meant to read Gone With the Wind, but I didn’t have the motivation to tackle it, and now I do. I would also like to watch the movie, but reading the book first is important. I may follow up this event with a review of the movie, but we’ll see how many other events and giveaways I have signed up for come November.

Gone With the Wind has five parts, and I intend to review each part individually since I hear that’s a good way to do it. I will probably only read one, maybe two parts in September due to it being a busy reading month. Either way, between now and November 8th you will see at least five posts for this event.

That’s all I have for now. Best of luck to those participating in either of these events, or whatever you have going on this month!